Held For Ransom
by Victoria Poe
Summary: Based on, but not copied from, the book "Ransom" by Lois Duncan comes a dramatic story of students at a local high school and their adventure as they are kidnapped and held for ransom. Stars: Trent, Cody, Gwen, my Oc Claire, Noah, Courtney and Duncan.
1. Chapter 1

It was Thursday.

Courtney was the first person on the bus, seeing as she was always let out early by Mr. Rockley, who knew she was his best student. The other students endlessly gossiped about how Courtney and Mr. Rockley (A handsome teacher, about the age of twenty) were having sex. They said nasty things about how she was the best student in the school because she was a whore. In reality, she was simply the best student because she was intelligent.

They called her a brat because her family was rich, and she lived in a very rich part of town. Courtney lived in a place called "Garden Springs" (which she had always thought was a redundant name) along with her neighbors, The Kirtland and Burton families.

Courtney sat down on the first seat in the front of the bus and pulled her book, Jade Green, from the grey backpack she called her own.

* * *

The next two people on the bus arrived in a pair, discussing some horror movie. They two were Gwen and Duncan. Many people believed that they were dating, but they were really just friends.

Gwen took off for the back of the bus, but Duncan saw someone who caught his eye. He flung his plaid backpack beneath the Courtney was in and sat next to her.

She ignored him as well as she could, but he was _staring_ at her, and the feel of unwanted eyes on your person is not a comforting one.

"Can I help you?" She said in the most aggravated fashion she could muster.

He smirked and continued to stare without a single word. Courtney groaned and turned her back to him, a fine blush coating her face.

* * *

The school bell rang and a noisy flood of students poured onto the bus, throwing their books about, laughing, and shouting. Trent Kirtland was the only one carrying a guitar though. He made his way to the back of the bus with the instrument while his brother, Cody, followed like a lost puppy. Trent sat down in the seat next to Gwen, and his brother sat in the seat across the aisle.

"Hey, I'm Trent." He smiled in a warm, friendly smile. Gwen blushed slightly, and then turned in her seat to look out the window, avoiding the boy.

-

Trent's sister, however, simple sat down near the back in an empty seat with her books neatly stacked and balanced on her lap. Claire Kirtland watched the other students be herded onto the bus by their friends, and crowd into the double seats, the space beside her becoming more and more obvious as everyone ignored it.

* * *

Noah Burton was the last one on to get on the bus. His sixth period was gym class, and it always made him late because he didn't like using the community showers. He hung around the gym, reading his book repeatedly until the first rush was over, and then went into the locker room just as most of the other guys were leaving. If he was lucky and the shower was empty, he used it; otherwise he yanked on his clothes and trusted to the general rush and confusion of late dressing to cover the omission of bathing. By the time he was clothed and had put away his gym clothes, it was a matter of luck whether or not he made it to the bus before it drove away. Sometimes he didn't, and that meant hitchhiking, something he didn't particularly mind when the weather was warm.

Today, however, was not a good day for standing outside by the road thumbing a ride, snow was obviously about to fall. Noah noticed this and, putting on a final burst of speed, made it to the bus just as the doors were closing. He used his good left hand to pull apart the doors enough to slide through. He looked about for a seat and noticed that the only available one was next to a girl, and close to the "perfect" Trent Kirtland. He begrudgingly sat next to the girl and noticed that the similarities between the girl and Kirtland were plenty noticeable. They both had black hair and those olive green eyes. The two were were related.

As he looked at her, the girl returned his stare. They looked at each other for a moment, and the girl picked up the book she had been reading. It was definitely an invitation to not start a conversation, and Noah was amused by it.

Another loner, he thought, and he would have liked her if she had not looked so much like another girl he had known. It was a type he was drawn to, tall and slender, not exactly pretty, but smooth, with neat, waist-length hair that defied the current fashions, a cool, aloof, slightly superior lift of the head which made it seem as though there were more there than she would ever see fit to offer anyone.

There had been a girl who looked almost identical to Claire. They both had that fine-boned look, that proud little tilt of the head. He had dated her a few times, and he would have continued dating her if it had not been summer and everyone had decided to go to Wawanaka.

He had made an excuse not to go, and they had believed him. It would have been alright if he had not heard the girl—his girl—saying to a friend." OHMIGAWD! Thank gosh Noah isn't going. He's a nice guy, and cute enough in that jacket, but I think I'd _die_ if I ever had to be seen on the beach with him!" Her friend had giggled in agreement and tossed her dark pigtails over her shoulder.

* * *

The bus stopped and started, until only a few people were left, only seven students and the driver. Somehow, no one had noticed that the driver was not their usual driver. The usual driver, Mr. Newman, wasn't very popular among the students, and was ofter forgotten about.

* * *

Claire silently let her eyes focus on her book in an attempt to bore the boy who was looking ever so rudely at her. She read the same sentence over and over again, not really taking in what it meant, but simply looking at the words. She was only seeing on word, her eyes focused on "missing". Something was clicking in her mind, but the rest of her body didn't react. She was the first to notice something was out of place. "Mr. you just missed the turn."

"Oh yea, sorry, I was daydreaming." He continued along the road, leaving the gate to Garden Springs far behind. He slowed the bus and eventually stopped in the side of the road. Outside the bus was a large black man with an anchor tattooed on his arm. The man held a gun. The bus driver opened the door and the other man climbed into the bus.

"Stand up, you little maggots!" Everyone stood, whether the reason being they were pulled to their feet or otherwise, and the man ordered them to walk off the bus in a single file line with their hands on each other's shoulders.

"Why should we?" Duncan bravely stood up to the unknown man. "You're probably just kidding with us. That or you're really stupid."

"Do you know who you're dealin' with boy? I will shoot you if you do not follow my orders!"

"Yea right, you're probably just trying to psych us out so you can do this without getting your hands dirty."

Suddenly, the driver spoke up. "Chef has killed people before." When no one commented, he continued. "We're holding you lot for ransom, and so long as your parents don't know that you're dead, they'll still pay us tons of cash to get you back!" He stood up from his seat at the wheel and everyone could finally see his face. That man had brown hair and soulless black eyes that, no matter the position of the sun, never showed any reflection of the world around him.

The man had a heavy leather jacket, the kind that one whould most often use when staying in an area of high altitude. Claire, the writer, noticed this first. "Where are you taking us?"

"Somewhere no one will find you, and where no one can rescue you."

"Enough chit-chat, we've gotta get you outta here before someone finds the bus!" Chef literally grabbed the first person his hand came in contact with (Courtney) and hoisted them upon his shoulders.

Duncan quickly pocketed his cellular phone while Chef and his accomplice weren't looking, and walked off.

Trent grabbed his guitar and walked off with it in his hands, acting cool and unafraid (though fear tinted his beautiful eyes a few shades darker).

Gwen looked slightly board as she walked off the bus, Cody protectively holding her by the shoulders and, no matter how much she glared at him, never loosening his grip.

Claire instinctivly slipped a small piece of paper into her book to hold her place, and walked off, Noah resting his left hand on her shoulder and leaving the other to his side.

The last one off the bus was the brunette man, who simply left the bus to sit at the side of some forgotten road.

* * *

As soon as everyone was off the bus, Chef let Courtney down (and none to gently, I might add) and picked a walkie-talkie from the pocket of his camouflage pants. "Yo, Bette! Bring the car."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the second chapter! **

**In the next chapter (Which I already have half written) We see the home lives of our unlucky students.**

**BTW: Claire is not a self-insert, she is a reference to my favorite character from the actual book, _Ransom_.**

**Please R&R**

* * *

The time passed slowly, well, it _seemed_ to pass slowly. Really it was only moments until a white truck with a giant plastic cupcake pasted to the top of it pulled up beside the bus. Chef opened up the door to the back of the truck and threw Courtney in. He then, keeping a hand on his gun all the while, ordered the others to follow suit. It was Duncan who stood up to him, yet again. "Why?"

"Why?" Chef regarded him with distaste; he was not expecting the boy to question him when there was a gun involved. "Because I said so, now move, you maggot!"

"The joke's gone far enough." Duncan said casually, as if he were discussing the weather with an old woman. "I have things to do, places to be, I can't be wasting my time here waiting for some psycho on crack to finish 'Kidnapping' us." He put air quotes around 'kidnapping'.

Chef's face contorted in ferocity, and he gripped the gun tighter. "Boy, you don't' know who you're messin' with."

The brunette man spoke next. "This is not a joke. Guns do not make jokes."

Trent, feeling brave at the time, moved to stand next to the pierced teen and said. "You wouldn't dare shoot us; you're using the gun to scare us. If you let us go now, we'll know that you were only kidding, that this was a... an initiation to a club or something!"

The green-haired boy next to him nodded in agreement. "Yea, we'll all just go home and act like this never happened."

Gwen thought about what they were saying, and she noticed that they were giving their captures a chance to give up, to let this whole thing fall in the dust before they got to the point of no return. "Either way," she added, shrugging Cody's hands off her shoulders where they were still firmly clamped. "I don't even live in Garden Springs; I'm staying with Duncan 's family for the month while my parents are out of town."

"No! What if he really _does _shoot?" Cody squeaked, looking at Gwen and his brother as if nothing else mattered. "Then you'll all be dead! Did you ever think about that?!"

Claire finally spoke.

She placed a hand on her Trent's arm and said quite plainly. "Don't try and be the hero, it won't work." She then turned to Duncan and said. "Just because you're strong and brave doesn't mean he's going to get scared of you and back down. This has probably been planned for a long time and, like he said, we don't need to be alive in order for them to get the ransom from our families."

"She's right." Noah's voice declared. "You're all being idiots."

Chef grinned and all his ugly yellowed teeth shown in the light of the setting sun. "Okay, then get 'em, Bruce."

But it was at this moment that the woman in the driver's seat of the truck decided to get annoyed. "What the hell is goin' on here? What is with you mother fuckers! We've got to go before someone finds us and we get arrested." The woman had lilac shadows under her eyes and looked as if she had been pretty at one time. She was overly skinny and she had a kind of sultry saunter that suggested either on drugs, or a heavy alcohol addiction.

"Bette isn't happy! Make me mother fucking happy!" She screeched at them with a Joplin-like wail.

"I'm gettin' 'em, Bette, don't worry." The brunette man answered her, his eyes showing the slightest bit of sympathy in their inky depths. He then grabbed Gwen and Claire by their wrists and shoved them into the back of the truck with Courtney, who was petrefied with either fear, or her love of following orders.

Chef pinned Duncan's hands behind his back and walked the teen into the car, and, surprisingly, Duncan didn't object.

All it took to get Cody into the truck was a glare from Chef, and Trent was already placing his guitar in the truck when the two turned to capture him. Noah didn't put up much of a fight either.

The brunette man sat in the passenger's seat next to Bette (who most of the students took to be his wife), and Chef sat in the back with the students.

* * *

Courtney, being a C.I.T, found that it was easier to make a plan after knowing everyone's strengths and weaknesses. She planned to do this by asking everyone about themselves, and sharing a bit of information about herself also. "I think we should get to know a little about each other." She cleared her throat, straightened her shirt, and began. "My name is Courtney Evans, I'm 16 years old, and I hate piercings, like nose rings and such."

She threw a pointed look at Duncan and he figured that she wanted him to speak now. He mockingly cleared his throat just as Courtney had and straightened his shirt. He finally caught her glare and stopped his clowning around. There were chuckles from Noah, Chef, Gwen and Cody, but, seeing as Trent was too nice to laugh as jesting and Claire thought the action was childish, from no one else.

"Seriously though, I'm Duncan Webber and I'm 16. Everyone in my family except me is a cop, and that's why we live in Garden Springs. I've been to juvie twenty-one times." Chef gave a small snort that might've been a laugh while Trent and Cody looked a bit frightened. Claire looked interested and Noah was rolling his eyes. Gwen, having already known the information, looked board just as she had been since the Courtney joke had ended.

"What about you, Kirtland?"

"Which one?"

"The skinny kid."

"I'm Cody." The gap-toothed boy said with a friendly grin. He was leaning close to Gwen, and Clair thought she saw him sniff the Goth's _hair _once. It was no secret in the Kirtland home, or anywhere for that matter, that Cody was completely in love with Gwen. Claire was the most sympathetic of Cody's siblings, seeing as she was very fond of her little brother. Cody was hopelessly in love with Gwen, who had a huge crush on Trent, who was secretly dating Lindsay. It was all very complicated the Kirtland family's love lives. Their love-lives were so complicated, in fact, that Claire was jotting down every bit of information for a book, or possibly the script for some Soap Opera.

Cody continued the conversation by describing himself, and putting a defiant emphasis on the fact that he played the keyboard. After Cody finished, Gwen Stolarz told us about her art, and showed off her sketchbook. Trent told everyone about his band, and Claire simply stated her name. Claire was waiting for Noah to speak, waiting to hear more about the rude boy who had been so fascinated with her on the bus.

Noah himself did not speak until at least five minutes had gone by. He lazily looked over at Chef, who was asleep, and then, taking a deep breath, began his story. "My name's Noah Burton and I live with my bachelor uncle who probably won't even notice I'm missing." Claire actually flinched from the coldness in his voice when he mentioned his uncle.

Noah motioned towards Chef. "Is he asleep?"

"That or he's pretending to be." Duncan answered, crawling over to the man as he spoke. He took a marker from his pants and was just about to draw on Chef's face when Courtney grasped his hand and gave him the most scornful look anyone there had ever seen.

Noah was just about to continue when, suddenly, the truck stopped, and Bette's face appeared at the door out. "Come on, damn it! I ain't got all day." She opened the door wide and motioned for everyone to get out. Chef _had_ been simply pretending to be asleep, and was following every one of the students, making sure that they did not try to sneak away.

They were led into a small cabin, and appeared to be near the top of a mountain. The little cabin was heated solely be a large fireplace in the front room. The brown-haired man was still in the truck. Chef left with the brown-haired man, and Bette was the only one watching the teens. She simply went into another room and returned with a bottle of beer.

"Okay, kiddos, if you don't tell my man that I got this beer here," She lifted the bottle up and listened to the sloshing before continuing. "I'll let you stay in the spare room on the bunk beds with some sleeping bags to keep you warm." Bette seemed to be calmer knowing that she had her beer.

It was Cody who spoke first. "We won't tell. But, if you don't mind my asking, why would it be bad for you to have beer?" Courtney rolled her eyes at this.

"'Cause," Bette answered, uncapping the bottle. "He thinks that it makes me crazy. That I'm a weird sort of drunk." She took a swig and swished it in her mouth like most people would mouthwash. "But I'm not. I'm a happy drunk!"

"Oh, okay. We'll just go then." She waved them away happily and slumped into the lumpy couch just in front of the fireplace, watching the flames with delight. Cody checked one door while Duncan checked another, and Trent watched for the catering truck's tell-tale neon pastry.

Cody's door revealed a bedroom that was obviously Bette and the Brown-haired man's.

Duncan's door ended up being the bunk room, and he slipped inside as soon as he deduced its significance. It was a small room with thick, padded walls and at least ten squishy sleeping bags stacked onto four bunk beds. He closed the door and leaned against it, then pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts until he found the one he was looking for: Geoffrey Sullivan.


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

**Okay, here are the lives of the kipnapped students. Notice how this is written out very... crappily. I wrote it all in my first-hour class at school.**

* * *

Mrs. Evans was sitting down in her usual armchair by the fire. It was exactly four o' seven, and Courtney was still not home. She was two minutes late. Unacceptable! A vein slowly throbbed in Mrs. Evans' head as she watched out the window or her daughter, like a black widow spider, waiting for the fly.

Mrs. Evans was a very strict woman, and that affected Courtney more than anyone ever cared to find out. Mrs. Evans tutored Courtney on linear equations when she was six, great American literature when she was seven, and so on. Mrs. Evans grounded Courtney if she ever received a B, and took away her privileges if she ever received a C. Perfection was Mrs. Evans' fondest dream. Thus, Courtney's being late was unacceptable.

The phone rang, and Mrs. Evans grabbed it in a robotic, business-like fashion. "This is the Evans home; may I ask who is calling?"

"It's four o' eight; do you know where your kid is?"

Her eyebrows knitted themselves together. "Of course, she's late getting home, now who is this?"

"She's with me, and you'll get her back if you pay the money."

"I doubt you have my daughter, she's too smart to get into anyone's car, and she rides the bus home. There was an accident with the bus and she'll be home soon."

"There was an accident, but _I_ caused it. I kidnapped your daughter, and you're going to pay the ransom."

"How do I know that she's not on her way home right now?"

"You don't, but do you want to risk it?"

She took the phone and set it down, racing to get in her car. Mrs. Evans, the workaholic, was running to her husband.

* * *

Mr. Kirtland was busily preparing dinner for his family, something he loved to do, and was very good at. Mrs. Kirtland was happily embroidering a rose onto her finest blouse, a blouse that no longer fit and was going to be a present for her daughter. They looked like something right out of the Brady Bunch movie, a frightening, yet happy thing. It was Five-Thirty when they were called by the brunette man, and it was Mr. Kirtland who set his pasta in a pot to boil and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Kirtland, I'm here to talk about your children, Cody, Trent, and Claire. Have you realized that they are late getting home?"

Mr. Kirtland glanced at his Rolex watch and replied:"Well, yes they are,"

"Do you know _why_ they are late?"

"Trent probably went over to his girlfriend's house and C & C probably didn't want to come home without him."

"No, Mr. Kirtland. They are late because of me, I kidnapped them, and some very bad things could happen if you do not pay the ransom of exactly one-thousand per child."

The previously gleeful father gulped. "What kinds of things?"  
"Well, you know how it is; two men with a few attractive girls, things could get out of hand. Particularly with your daughter, she's a cute little thing."

Mr. Kirtland held the phone away from his face, unable to head anymore. He counted to five, and held the phone back up to his ear. "Mr. Kirtland, pay the ransom, or some very bad things will happen."

"Let me talk with my wife, and we'll find some way to pay."

"Good," There was a crackling, and the call was over. Mr. Kirtland hung up the phone and, with a heavy heart, went to tell his wife that their children would not be home for dinner.

* * *

Lindsay was sitting at home looking at her pet blow fish. His name was Fugu, because Trent said that he was a Fugusashimi blow fish. She was in her favorite pair of pink pajamas and running her fingers through her long golden hair while she stared at Fugu.

Trent always called her when he got home, and he hadn't called yet. Now, Lindsay wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she knew something was wrong when her boyfriend of three years hadn't called her.

"Does he wanna, like, break up?" She wondered aloud, thinking of the times she had injured him so badly on accident, and he had said it was okay. Was he lying when he said that? Did he finally want to go out with that Goth girl? It was all so confusing!

Her cell phone rang and the sounds of "Bad to the Bone" echoed in her room. She flipped open her (also pink) phone. "Like, hello?" The voice that met her ears was Trent's.

"Hi, sweetheart!"

"Hi Brent!"

"It's Trent, Hon, Trent."

"Oh, sorry." Then, a thought occurred to Lindsay. "Why didn't you call earlier, why aren't you back here, and why didn't you call from your normal phone?"

"You noticed all that?" There was a pause. "Okay, I didn't call earlier because I won't be home for a while. I'm calling from a different phone because I'm hanging out with this guy named Duncan, and my phone isn't charged. Finally, I didn't get the chance to call earlier because something came up."

"Will you be home tomorrow?"

There was another pause.

"I don't' know, Lindsay, but I hope so." There was a scuffling and the sound of a door closing. The phone went dead. Lindsay, the Blond, smiled perkily and flipped shut her cell phone, convinced that nothing was wrong.

* * *

Mr. Zach Crete was shaving his stubbly face in his beautiful (and expressive) home when he received the call. He took one look over his shoulder at eh bathroom door, getting ready to grab his phone... Then, he thought better of it and returned to his half-shaven face.

Zach was a handsome man with lots of money. He was also a man who enjoyed women and many, MANY parties. Nothing pleased him more than a bottle of white wine and a good party. Of course, now that he had a teen under his roof, he had to refrain from partying every night. It wasn't that Mr. Crete wasn't fond of Noah, he was fond of him. Mr. Zach Crete simply did not _understand_ why a young man like Noah would want to study and read when he lived in a beautiful neighborhood with many pretty girls.

Mr. Zach Crete splashed on a little aftershave and went to leave a note for Noah. It said:

_Noah, _

_Sorry I didn't catch you this morning, or after you got outta school, or any time of day. I'm going on a business trip for a while, and I leaving you the keys to the Jaguar. Go have some fun this weekend! _

_Your buddy, _

_Zach._

Mr. Crete dressed himself in a blue business suit that complimented his charming features, and then he walked out the front door, into one of his many cars, and sped off towards the airport. He never picked up the phone, and he had no idea that Noah was missing.

* * *

The Webber family consisted of one mother, one father, two sons, and two daughters.

Mr. Webber was an unfortunately ugly man with grand coop skills and a firm band of honor.

Mrs. Webber was a lovely blond woman who tried, and failed at being a homemaker, then just gave it all up to be a cop.

The Webber daughters, Kitty and Brittany, were twins, though they were not identical in any way.

Kitty was rebellious like her brother, Duncan. They dyed their hair together and got piercings together.

Brittany, however, was strict, to the point, and mean as a snake. She always wanted to be a cop, and nothing would ever stop her from banging those "rule-breaking punk's" heads around. She was most like her father. She was a muscled girl with two thick eyebrows and hair cropped so short that she looked like a man. Needless to say, Brittany was _not_ a very attractive girl.

The Webber's "good" son was Nathan. Nathan was the typical overachiever. He did everything he was told, gave complements that sounded like they came from a book, and he was an over-achieving kiss-ass.

Then there was Duncan. Duncan the baby (youngest in the family). Duncan the demon-spawn. Duncan the idiot. Duncan the punk. Duncan the juvie kid. That's how he was labeled. He was labeled all of those things by his neighbors, by his parole officer, by his parents, by his brother, and by one of his sisters. The only people who really believed in him were Gwen and Kitty.

When the phone rang in the Webber house, Brittany was out helping her parents at the Police Station, as was Nathan.

The only person home was Kitty, who was in the bathroom putting green and teal streaks in her hair, to symbolize Gwen and Duncan, her best friends.

She moved to the door, and then realized that her hair would be jeopardized by moving now. She prayed that the call wasn't important, and continued with the complicated process of streaking her hair.

* * *

Duncan himself was sitting in the bunk room with Trent, sharing his cell with the musician. As Trent said his good-byes, Courtney slipped inside. "Claire is trying to hatch a plan with Noah, and Cody is watching for Chef and that other guy." She looked at the phone. "Is that a _cell phone_?"

"Yea—and?"

"We could call to get out of here with that!"

"I already tried, but my buddy, Geoff, is too busy making out with Bridgette. "

"Well, we can call your family, they're police, and they can help!"

Duncan looked forlorn for a moment. "No, they can't. They may be police, but they'll think that I'm joking around with them when I called."

Courtney sat down next to him and grasped his hand. "Maybe if _I _called, then they'd listen. They'd believe me."

He smirked. "Maybe, you _do_ remind me of my sister, Brittany. You're just the hot version of her."

"You Ogre!"

"You know it!" He smiled, a gleeful and interested smile, and then turned to Trent. Evidently, Trent had left the room and set the phone next to Duncan.

Duncan, being the enormous flirt that he was, nabbed the cell and shoved it into his back pocket. "You want it? Come get it." he smirked and lay back in the bunk.

Courtney frowned, but her face held the glimmer of interest. Whether it was interest in a challenge, or interest in Duncan, even _she_ wasn't sure.

Courtney climbed onto the bunk with him. "Give me the phone; I'm not putting _my_ hand _there_." He smirked some more, and then flipped over onto her.

"I don't' think so, Princess." His breath was minty, but not smoky like Courtney had expected (she mentally slapped herself for thinking about such trivial things as a young man's breath. Especially _this_ young man's breath).

"Give me the phone, and I won't hurt you."

"Hurt me? Wow, you're kinky... I like that." She gave him a disgusted look and turned her face away from his. There were figures in the doorway.

"Um, this isn't what it looks like!"

"Sure it's not,"

Duncan's reply to this was: "Girl can't keep her hands off of me!"

This earned him a knee in the groin.

While Duncan loudly swore and clutched his... um... 'Afflicted Area', Gwen (who had been watching from the doorway) simply grabbed the phone from his back pocket and handed it to Courtney. "I've done nastier with Duncan than touch the seat of his pants."

The three of them (Courtney, Cody, and Trent) all cringed at this.

"What?" The gothic girl held up her hands in surrender. "We got curious, and my parents weren't home!"

Once again, they cringed.

"Well, the phone is on its last charge." The musical tone of a cell phone powering down filled the room. "Make that 'the phone is dead'."

There was an awkward moment of silence (save for Duncan's painful moaning) and Cody, wanting to break the awkward loss of sound, said: "Where did Claire and Noah go off to?"

"They're talking out a plan, right?" Trent added.

**

* * *

**

Not long after they arrived, Claire slipped away back outside and sat out of sight from the windows. She pulled her knees up against her chest and laid her head in them. Tears freely fell from her face, the bitter cold threatening to freeze them upon her cheek.

She was not usually one to show fear, but this was the most frightening thing that had ever happened to her. The men who had kidnapped them, mostly Chef, were not the cartoon villains from her Saturday morning cartoons. These men were real villains, the kind who kill people to get what they want.

She was terrified.

So terrified, in fact, she startled and nearly screamed when a hand clasped her on the shoulder. When so looked up, expecting to see the barrel of a gun, she saw Noah's concerned face. "Did I startle you? Sorry." He sat down next to her in the snow.

I wasn't scared; I was just... humoring you."

"If you say so," She smiled a bit at his comment.

"You should get something to eat; I found some cans of soup."

Claire shook her head. "I'm not hungry."

"You'd better eat anyway; you'll need your energy." _Why do I care?_ Noah thought. _It's strange that I should be worried for her health, we barely know each other._ He grasped her hand and stood up, causing her to stand. "Give it up, Claire, you're hungry, and you need your strength." Her small, crocked smile grew and evened out a bit.

"Okay then, if I must." She thought about removing her hand from Noah's grip, but his hand was so warm, and she was shivering from sitting out in the cold for so long. It had been a foolish idea.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

The catering truck halted just outside and everyone was at the window to watch. Even Bette, who had another bottle of beer, was watching as the Brunette man slid out the truck and locked it. Chef was nowhere to be found.

The teens walked away from the window and into the kitchen. In the small kitchen, there was a wooden table with mismatching chairs and little cups of soup. There was also a stove, a refrigerator, and a few cupboards full of junk. "Why do you think Chef didn't come back?" Gwen asked.

Courtney answered with a simple: "He's probably staying in some town calling our parents for the ransom."

"Do you think that the ransom will be paid?" While he said this, Cody looked nervous, like he didn't think his parents would have money for his brother, sister _and_ him.

"Cody! Mom and Dad wouldn't do that; they love all of us too much to pick and choose. They'll pay it all, no matter what." Trent put an arm around his little brother and Claire patted his arm.

"If you say so," Cody, being the youngest of the group, liked to think of his older siblings as a safe haven.

"Well, sorry to break up this 'Kodak Moment', but I need to hear these guys talk." Noah rudely said, pointing towards the main room where Bette and the Brunette man were sitting.

"Bruce, I don't' like this. Chef is a pretty scary guy, and I don't like scaring these kids, it's not good for me!" Bette was sitting in his lap, and had his arms around her, the fire lightly reflected in his inky eyes.

"Bette, you know I'm only in this for you. I just want the money to buy you nice things, and a big house with lots of cars..." he paused, almost as if he were afraid to say the next thing. "It'd also be kinda nice to get you into rehab."

"But I don't _need_ rehab, I've told you before!" Bette straightened her posture as she angrily reminded 'Bruce' of this.

"Okay, Okay, no rehab." It was painfully obvious that Bruce very much wanted her to go to rehab.

Noah became board, and decided that there was no more to be heard. Claire suggested that they all turn in, and Duncan flirtatiously requested to sleep in the bunk under Courtney (she kicked him in the side).

It ended up that the girls were on the right side of the room, guys on the left. Courtney was the first to fall asleep, seeing as she had to fall asleep to the beat of a schedule at home.

Then, when Trent, Duncan, Noah, Cody, and finally Gwen nodded off to sleep, Claire decided that she needed a drink of water.

She crept out of their room and into the kitchen. The door to Bette and Bruce's bedroom was open a crack, and she could hear them talking.

"Babe, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before! I didn't want you to worry."

"You didn't want me to _worry_? You tell me _that_ and you expect me not to worry? How _could _you? This is not," There was a muffled sound, probably Bruce covering Bette's mouth with his hand.

"Bette, it was necessary. I had to kill him."

'_I had to kill him? Who did he have to kill?' _

"Poor Mr. Newman, it's just not fair that he had to die." Bette's sobs sounded like static, and Claire felt herself creep back into the bunk room, even breathing made her feel in danger. She took slow shallow breaths, afraid that he would kill her if she moved too much.

* * *

THE NEXT DAY

* * *

It was morning, and Gwen was the first one up. She liked to get early back home, as the dew on the grass in the early morning was so beautiful to draw.

Today, however, there was no dew to sketch, so she simply thought about Claire and Noah's plan of escape. She had joined them for canned soup yesterday and listened to their ideas. The plan was to get the keys for the catering truck from Bette and drive down to the nearest town.

Perhaps it was a little unlikely that this plan would work, but they could try.

Gwen was so busy thinking that she didn't notice someone creep p behind her. "Gwen," She startled and turned around, only to see it was Trent.

"Trent? What are you doing up?"

A thin blush covered her pale cheeks as he sat down on the floor next to her. "I wanted to talk to you alone." The Goth's heart went pitter-patter and Trent grasped her hand. "I know you like me, and I think you're pretty cool too, but..." He paused and wet his lips.

"But I kind of have a girlfriend already."

It took a moment for understanding to reach her. "You what?"

"I already have a girlfriend. You know Lindsay, from your science class? She's my girlfriend."

"You're dating Lindsay. Lindsay and you are dating." She said this in a way that made Trent think she was talking to herself.

"I never had a chance anyway. I should've been nicer to Cody." She then sprang from her sitting position on the floor and started to walk over to the bunk room. "Damn it! I should've been nicer to Cody!"

She looked around for a moment until she came to Cody's bunk. She then shook him awake and stood very still until he awoke. "Man, I knew you didn't like me, but are you trying to kill me?"

She stared at him for a moment.

Cody had always been a very cute kid in her opinion, and if she had known about Trent and Lindsay, she would have dated him before.

She leaned over Cody and took his face in her hands. "I always thought you were cute." With that, she promptly kissed him on the lips, and he kissed back. It wasn't the kind of kiss she expected, clumsy and inexperienced. Instead, it was well-practiced and sweet, like a fairy tale prince's kiss to wake the sleeping maiden.

They broke apart and Cody smugly said: "Couldn't resist the Codemeister's charms, huh?" She smiled and answered. "I guess not."

"Wahoo! Dude just got a kiss!" Duncan obnoxiously jumped out of the bunk above and teased with a jesting smirk.

"Duncan, you just ruined it!" Courtney jumped from her bunk on the direct other side of the room. "I was watching them get together! It was so cute, and then you had to ruin it!"

"What! You were both watching us?" Gwen stood straight and tall, as if pondering hitting the both of them right on the head. Cody, however, was getting a knuckle-touch and a 'good job' from Duncan, but he stopped and whispered a 'sorry' when his eyes met Gwen's murderous stare.

"Those two aren't the only ones who were watching you make-out." Noah's voice sounded from the bunk just to the right of the group. "I was watching too." He stumbled out of the bunk and walked out of the room.

* * *

It had been at least two hours since the teens had awoken, and Claire still refused to move from the bunk room. She sat on her bunk and stared out the window.

Her brothers were worried, and she knew that. She knew that Gwen and Courtney were concerned, but not very much. She also knew that Noah was worried, but she knew not the magnitude.

Noah was worried about her.

It was strange that he should be, for he really did not know her at all. There had been that moment on the bus when he had looked at her and noticed her, for an instance, the resemblance to a girl he had once known. There was that time last night when he had found her outside in the snow, and he had seen her vulnerability. He had noticed a small tear on her cheek, which was normal. She was scared, and he could understand that. If she would have continued crying and become hysterical, he would have understood.

But she did not.

She might've not even noticed the tear, for she wiped it away and sat there until he had offered her a hand.

Noah had become worried when she did not join them, but concluded that Claire needed more rest. He made small talk with Courtney (who was an intellectual and very interesting to talk with) as he waited for her to come and sit by the fire. "Maybe I should go talk to her." He mumbled illegibly.

Courtney looked at him, and then glanced to the bunk room door. "Go, go talk to her. I wanna know what's up."

Without a single look back, he left to go see Claire.

She was standing by the window. Her back was to him and she did not turn when he came to stand by her.

"Hi." Noah said awkwardly. "Did you get a good night's rest?"

She, without looking at him, nodded.

He wished she would turn so he could see her face.

"You should get something to eat; you'll need your energy if you're going to escape with us."

"Oh please..." She did turn then and face him, and he saw a strange look in her eyes, as though shock and fright had wiped away all emotion._ Something's wrong, but what?_

"Claire, come in by the fire, it's cold in here."

"No, can't you just leave me alone?"

"Well, gosh, I'm... We're all worried about you! Don't you even care? We want to know if you're okay."

He really was worried, terribly so worried. Noah had seen something in this girl, something more than just her physical resemblance to Katie, something much, much deeper.

**I met myself the other day,**

**In quiet mouth, in eyes of grey—**

He didn't remember the piece of poetry, probably something his mother used to read aloud when he was younger, and she was still alive.

He had no time to ponder any longer, for Claire spoke, and when he looked at her, her face was filled with terror and the blank look was gone.

"I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want to tell any of you because I knew that if would just scare you. It's bad enough without—without..."

"What is it?"

"I didn't want to tell, but I have to. I have to tell somebody!"

"What is it, Claire?" He found suddenly that he was gripping her shoulders with both hands. "Tell me."

"Last night, I couldn't sleep, and I was so worried about what was happening that I had to get a drink of water, to clam me down." She paused and looked over toward the bunk room door. "I walked out of here and the door to Bette and Bruce's room was open a bit. I heard them talking, and Bette was really upset about something. Then..."

She stared straight at Noah's face when she said this. "They killed Mr. Newman, they killed him! They didn't just lock him up in a dumpster somewhere, they killed him!" Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she began to shake with sobs that were on their way.

Noah took her in his arms and she buried her face in his chest, the soft material of his jacket absorbing the tears. "It's okay, just let it all out." He made a bold move and stroked her hair, it was soft, and he half expected her to pull away.

But she did not.

"They've already killed one person, Noah. What are they going to do?"


	5. Chapter 5

Lindsay was at home with her sister Paula. All she did was let slip that Trent had called, and Paula had made her talk. "He said something about being kidnapped, and he was using Duke's phone." Paula knew Lindsay speak, Duke was Duncan.

Paula smiled and grabbed her own phone. "I'm going to bring back Trent, okay Lindsay?" Lindsay smiled and her baby blue eyes twinkled with delight. Paula tossed her blond hair over her shoulder and walked out the door, already dialing her boyfriend, Nathan.

* * *

The phone rang at Mr. Zach Crete's house, and no one was around to answer it. Mr. Zach Crete was currently enjoying a "form of exotic entertainment" with his business friends.

* * *

Kitty was sitting in her room, waiting for a call from either Duncan or Gwen. She was worried, but her parents and siblings could care less. They figured that Duncan and Gwen had run off to do something illegal. Kitty, however, knew better, and knew that her brother wouldn't run off and forget to call her.

There was a ringing from the downstairs phone.

Kitty ran for the phone and nearly yanked out the cord in an attempt to pick up the phone. "Hello, Duncan, is it you?"

"No."

She sighed and slumped into a hump-back standing position. "Then who is this?"

"My name is unimportant, but I know where you brother, Duncan, and your friend, Gwen are."

Kitty was paying attention again. "Where are they!?"

"They're being held for ransom, and I'll tell you where they are, if you promise to bring the money."

"I'll bring the money, just tell me where and how much."

"You're a smart girl, aren't you?" He paused and she could hear his dark chuckle. "I'll give you until five 'o clock tomorrow to get into the village of Caro with the money, then I'll take you to your friends."

Kitty asked the amount, and he told her. Then he hung up, and she went to retrieve her secret stash of money.

Kitty's secret stash was in her mattress. Kitty didn't have a real bed; she just had a mattress on the floor. It was her way of saying that she was an individual, but it was also an excellent way to hide things. She pulled the blankets off of her bed and looked around for the place where she had ripped open the mattress and sewn it shut. When she found the stitching, she simply pulled on the loose thread until there was a large enough opening to grab the tiny black case sitting just inside.

Kitty snatched her jacket and slipped on her boots. Then, with the case in her hand and cell phone in her pocket, she walked out to her car and drove off into the distance.

No one from her family had even noticed she was gone, except for Nathan, who was following her with his car, and his girlfriend.

* * *

Chef was wearing a baseball cap and a huge Red Wings jacket when Kitty's yellow mini cooper pulled up to the small movie theater where they had agreed to meet. She hopped out of her car and locked it. Chef looked her over; she wasn't very muscular, but she was tall. Not much of a fight, but she might be difficult to kidnap.

He waved her over and she whispered to him. "Are you the man who called me?"

"Yes. Do you have the money?"

"Ys." She thrust her hand in her jacket pocket and pulled out the small black case.

"Is that the WHOLE amount?"

"Yes."

He grabbed the case and opened it up. There were definitely lots of bills in there, and most of them were hundreds.

"Good."

"Don't forget, you told me we were going to go see my friends." She looked stern, and Chef smiled a toothy smile.

"Of course, how about you take the wheel, and I'll tell you where to go."

"Okay, but we're driving my car." Kitty slipped back into the driver's seat in her car and started the car. Chef clambered into the seat next to her, and immediately told her to continue down the main road.

* * *

Paula was at the wheel and Nathan was calling the number Lindsay had received Trent's message from. The phone in his hands buzzed until, finally, he was answered. "Hello?"

"Hi, who is this?"

"What do you mean, Dung-head? This is Duncan!"

"Where are you Duncan? Paula and I are coming to rescue you."

"Rescue me?" Nathan was unnerved by Duncan's pause. "No way, Jose, we've already got a plan, and you're not going to be the perfect son this time!" Then the cell in Nathan's hands was silent.

* * *

It was midnight when Duncan flipped his cell phone shut and walked back into the bunk room. He flopped back down on his bunk where Courtney had fallen asleep. Any other guy (Well, any other hormonal teen boy who had a crush on the girl in bed next to him and a juvie record anyway) would take advantage of this situation, but not Duncan. He wanted Courtney to _really_ like him, the way he liked her.

He put an arm around her and closed his eyes, thinking of how he could make her proud, thinking of what he would have to do to make her like him.


	6. Chapter 6

In the morning, Gwen was the one standing by the window looking for Chef. She was barely awake, and she had light lavender bags under her eyes that reminded her of Bette when she looked in the glassy reflection the window cast.

Gwen was about to give up when a yellow Mini Cooper was seen in the distance, Kitty was driving.

She stumbled back into the bunk room and poked everyone awake. "Guys, the car's here!" She excitedly pointed out the window and they all jumped up to see the Mini Cooper parked just outside the cabin and Chef walking in the door. "What are you kids doin' up?"

"Nothing, we just couldn't sleep."

"Oh, well do ya wanna know the score on ya ransoms?"

No one answered.

"Well, I'm going to tell ya." He pulled a slip of paper from under the baseball cap he was wearing and read from it. "Gwen, Duncan, have been paid for. Courtney is almost paid for, along with Trent, Cody and Claire. Noah," He turned to face the boy. "We ain't even reached your Uncle Zach."

"I didn't think you would, he's never home and probably doesn't even know I'm missing." He frowned and Chef scowled back. "Then you're going to stay here until he _does_ notice you're missing."

"What about me?" Kitty said, walking into the room and pulling the attention away from Noah. "I paid their ransom," She pointed to Gwen and Duncan "do I have to pay my own too?"

"No, you're just going to stay here until your buddies get paid for."

"Oh..."

Chef, annoyed by all their questions, stormed off into the kitchen and grabbed a slice of the cheese that was sitting in the refrigerator.

Noah turned to the other teens and whispered the plan over to them, and then they waited for nightfall.

Bette liked to stay in the kitchen all day or lounge around on the couch. Bruce liked to sit in the bedroom and read.

They would be no problem.

Chef, on the other hand, liked to wither stay in a hotel down the road. He _would_ be a problem.

* * *

Mostly, no one had anything they could do for a few hours, so Claire took this time to write. She walked outside once again and took with her a pencil and a few ages of paper from Bette. She had no idea where the paper had come from, but it smelled slightly of Tobacco.

Noah, however, sat in the bunk room thinking, having no real hobby he could indulge in during their stay in Hell.

Trent tuned up and played his guitar, he was writing a song, but for whom he wrote the song not even he knew.

Gwen brought out a pencil and got a sheet of paper from Claire. She sketched a few doodles from her imagination and shaded them in, getting board of her muses quite quickly.

Cody was content with watching Gwen draw, for he likes seeing his girlfriend (He marveled at the word) draw he magical sketches; they were so real, they looked as if they could jump off the page.

Duncan busied himself with annoying Courtney, though he noticed that she no longer looked as if she wanted to rip his head off. She looked as if his actions were somewhat endearing to her.

Finally there was Kitty. Kitty simply looked out the window at her car longingly and fell asleep at the window. It wasn't that she didn't like the people in the cabin; it was just that she didn't want to keep them from doing their things (She also just thought of how nice it would be to go home and have a chicken sandwich).

Finally, it was time.

Chef had taken the catering truck down to his hotel as a suggestion from Courtney (who could be _very_ persuasive) and the Mini Cooper was left parked outside.

Noah told Duncan and Courtney to watch and make sure that Bette and Bruce didn't see them escaping into the night. They were prefect for the job because they were going to leave last.

Everything went smoothly, Gwen and Cody escaped, then Trent and Kitty, then the final few were left while Noah drove back up with teh Mini Cooper.

Then, all Hell broke loose..

The catering truck was winding up the road silently as Noah started to herd the others into the car.

Chef pulled to a slow and soundless stop, and then pulled out his gun. It was a revolver. He took careful aim and shot.


	7. Chapter 7

To Claire, the shot was inevitable, like the end of a cheesy movie..

To Courtney, it was a shock, something that did not happen to good children like her who did as they were told.

To Duncan, it was something that happened to him many times before, something he wanted to never have happen again.

To Noah, it was merely very painful.

Chef smiled his yellowed grin and slid into the shadows, his gun aimed toward another victim.

Courtney screamed, Duncan crouched to Noah's aid, and Claire stood there with her eyes widened from fear.

"He shot Noah," She said thinly.

"Come on, Claire, we've got to help him. He might be dying."

"He might be dying.." Then the terrible meaning of the words struck her, as if the bullet had pierced her own skin rather than Noah's. "He may be _dyeing_!"

She knelt to Noah's side and looked at the blood seeping rapidly from a hole in his jacket.

Duncan picked up the smaller teen and Courtney opened the door to the cabin.

They carried Noah into the bunk room and laid him down on one of the bunks.

Courtney looked pale, but she stayed with Duncan and the others.

There was another gunshot.

Courtney raced toward the sound, outside toward the car.

The wheels had been shot.

She ran back inside and sat on the couch, focusing on the fire. This usually calmed her, focusing on something. This time, however, it did not.

Duncan came out to sit near her.

He was surprised when she leaned into him and cried on his chest.

* * *

Claire looked at Noah. He was groaning with pain and clutching his arm. "Noah, can you take your shirt off?"

"What, why?" He looked at her suspiciously.

"Because I need to bandage your arm!" Shock at his reply stood out on her face.

"It doesn't need to be bandaged.

"But it does!"

"I'll do it myself! Just leave me alone." Real fear outlined his face now.

"Noah, just let me, please. I won't hurt you."

"That's not what I'm worried about. " As he said this, he began to remove his jacket, and the long-sleeved shirt beneath that.

Then, when she stared at his wound, realization struck her.

She looked at the bloodied mess, at the sturdy man's body with the wasted, underdeveloped arm..

"Okay, you can stop looking now." He said, irritation clawing at his voice.

Claire did not even blink. She simply stayed frozen, looking at his arm.

"Seriously, the show ends at 11 o' clock, next freak showing is at 12."

She didn't move.

"Say something!"

"There's nothing _to_ say."

Then she leaned forward and kissed him.

* * *

There was another shot. This time, it penetrated glass.

Courtney immediately stood as soon as the shot was fired. she knew where the bullet was, and she knew where to go.

Duncan followed Courtney into Bette and Buck's room.

There lay Buck, and Bette was standing over him. "Bruce?" She had her hands covering her face. Bette knelt down to her husband's side, gingerly removing her hands from her face. "Bruce, are you okay?" She stroked his hair and held his hand.

But Bruce's black eyes would never again see her.

"Bette, is that you?" He groaned, the blood pouring from his head filling his eyes and blinding him.

"Bette, are you okay?"

She smiled and hugged her husband close. "Oh, Bruce! You're okay!"

Bruce slowly moved his hand to her shoulder, then to her back. "Bette,"

"Yea?"

"I love you."

At that time, Courtney and Duncan felt that they should leave the two to be alone, so they walked back out to the main room. "Duncan, what are we going to do?" Courtney asked, sitting down on the couch once more. "I'm scared."

"Babe," he answered. "I don't' have any clue what we're going to do, but I really don't' want to die here." He grasped her around her middle and sat her on his lap. "If I do die here, I'm going to die a happy man."

"Why?"

"Because I'm with you." He grinned as he said this, making it less dramatic, but every bit as sweet.

"Duncan, do you really mean that?"

"Well, duh!"

She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzle her nose into his neck. "That's so sweet, " She leaned back and looked him straight in the eyes. "For an ogre."


	8. Chapter 8

"_That's so sweet, for an ogre."_

Chef stood vigilantly, aiming through one of the windows of the cabin. He would get his money; he'd get it if it _killed_ him.

He crept slowly closer to one of the few windows and peered inside. He saw Bette and Bruce inside. The sight made him sick. How could they even bare to look at each other now that they were both bloodied and ugly?

He shuddered and walked to the next window. The shades were poorly drawn, so Chef could see through a small crack in them. Inside were Claire and Noah. Noah was asleep with a rag around his shoulder where Chef'd shot him and his jacket was still off. Chef felt no remorse at the sight of his arm. Claire was sitting in a chair by the bed, Noah's hand in one of hers, the other hand holding a rag that held, no doubt, the bullet.

He turned away from here also and finally came to the final window he would check. This window also had the shades drawn, but parted, like cat's eyes. He could clearly see Duncan and Courtney talking, taking about something.

Then, Courtney leaned into Duncan.

At first, Chef thought they were going to kiss, but she merely moved her mouth closer to something in his hand.

The Phone!

Chef aimed, and readied his fire.

"Sir, step away from the building. You are under arrest!" Chef turned to see, literally, dozens of police cars swarming all around him. He, simply from shock, dropped his weapon. One of the officers (a very strong officer, mind you) walked over to Chef and tossed him into one of the cars, but not before another checked his pockets and pulled a few things.

The officer who'd checked Chef walked into the cabin and gave everyone back their things (Chef had money, gum, pencils, car keys, and all manner of other things).

Noah, seeing as his wound was clean, was allowed to go home with the others in Kitty's car (the police helped them replace the tire), and Bette and Bruce were transported to the hospital.

The four teens raced down the mountain and discovered Nathan, Paula and the other teens waiting for them.

Nathan and Paula, knowing something was wrong, followed the signal let off by Duncan's phone and found Gwen and the others waiting for them. They then phoned the police (i.e. mom and dad) and let the others phone their parents.

All in all, I think Duncan will have some new found respect for his 'kiss-ass' brother.

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

Claire: Six Months Later

* * *

Dear Mom and Dad,

College is great, and I'm so glad to hear about Cody and his girlfriend. I mean, wow, they're finally getting recognized for their talent! How are Trent and Lindsay, Duncan and Courtney, everyone else? I hope they're well.

As for me, I'm doing very well, college comes so easily to me, and Noah is such a huge help with the harder stuff, like math.

He's getting better about working with a prosthetic arm, since they had to amputate his old one after the bullet wound. He still hates the thing but at least he's healthy and all that.

Um... Not sure what else to say, so bye-bye.

Love forever,

Claire and Noah

PS: Mom, can you call me tonight? I need to talk with you about some... _things_ that I don't want dad to know about... yet. You know... birds… and stuff.

* * *

Duncan: Six Months Later

* * *

"Bye, Duncan." Courtney whispered, inching back to her car in the pitch black night. Duncan blew her a smug kiss good-bye and snuck up to his house.

He cursed at the fact that his room was on the second floor, and started to toss pebbles at his sister's window.

She opened the window and tossed down a rope ladder. Duncan smiled as he climbed up it and into his sister's room, something they had planned out in advance should his dates with Courtney last too long.

But, upon entering Kitty's room, he noticed the forms of his mother and father were the only ones there.

"Duncan, where have you been all night?" His mother said, fear was one emotion that wasn't in her voice.

"Kid, you better not've been out with that Courtney girl. You're a bad influence to her.

Duncan rolled his eyes and answered: "No, I wasn't out with Princes. I was out setting fire to a cat, or blowing up a toilet, or whatever you think I do in my spare time."

It was then he noticed the giggling form of his sister under the blankets on the floor (remember, she sleeps on a mattress on the floor).

He chose not to say anything, but he'd get revenge later.

"Dunkie," His mother started. "If you want to go out with a girl, go out with her in broad daylight where everyone can see you, so no one thinks bad of her family and her."

"Sure, okay." He said as he walked out of the room. A small package fell from his pockets. His mother plucked it from the floor before Duncan could reach for it. It was a small scull.

"No, don't" Duncan said, looking fearful at the prospect of his mother looking at the scull.

She smiled. "Oh, Dunkie, you're finally showing your heart of gold to others!" The skull was engraved with the words: I Love You, Princess.

Duncan angrily grabbed the scull and ran for his room, his face red with embarrassment. Who would've thought? Duncan? Embarrassed?

* * *

Gwen: Six Months Later

* * *

Dear Diary,

I don't know why I still write_ to_ my diary instead of just in it. Oh well!

Cody and I are still going out, and we're going to start a band. We've got this girl, LeShawna, who's going to help.

LeShawna is so cool, she's really... loud and.... big.

As for how being held for ransom has changed me, I look a bit different, and I guess I've changed a bit in personality. I dunno...

I have the same hair, same skin tone, but I wear different clothes now. Like, jeans and t-shirt and stuff.

The rest of us ransom kids still talk and all that, but I don't see Claire and Noah anymore, they're in college; Trent and Lindsay are still 'in the shadows' about their relationship; Duncan and Courtney are all but married; Even Kitty's all twitterpaited over some guy named DJ.

Oh well, I guess that's all. I'm going out on a date with Cody, Duncan, and Courtney.

Sincerely,

Gwen

* * *

Lindsay: Seven Year Later

(I didn't think this one up, my friend King Kubar did. I edited it a bit though.)

* * *

It was raining.

Lindsay was still up at midnight, and it was raining.

No one except Lindsay was in the house, and she couldn't sleep. It was strange, however, that this particular night Trent was also awake. Lindsay watched him walk up to the front door through her bedroom window, smiling her sweet smile that first came into being when she and Trent shared their first kiss...

She didn't notice she'd opened the door until she was holding a sopping wet Trent in her arms. One drop of water on his face stood out amongst the rest.

A tear.

"What's wrong, Trent?"

"Nothing, Sweetheart, I just think... I just think..."

"What?"

"I love you," Her face lit up and answered with 'I love you, too!'.

"I've been thinking about us, and after what happened seven months ago... I just realized how much I love you, and I've been waiting for the right moment to tell you. I've just never really gotten the chance, or I've been too scared, or something along those lines."

"I really love you, but I don't understand what you're getting at."

"I think we should bring our relationship out of the shadows."

"Oh," Lindsay broke away from Trent, smile still in place, and turned on the lights. "Now it's out of the shadows... right?" She walked back over nad embraced him once more.

Trent sighed, thinking how adorible her confusion was. "No, I mean we should tell people we're dating."

"But, what will everyone think?"

He pulled away. Lindsay looked sad, until she realized he was turning off the lights. "Let's cross that bridge when we get to it." He shed his soaked coat and returned to Lindsay's loving arms. "I'd rather think about right here, right now."

* * *

**Well, that's all folks! Unless... you want a sequel. I'd need an idea though!**


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